Real Estate Forum 2024: Real Estate Market Crisis Replaced by Steady Growth

The first panel discussions on the development of the real estate market in 2024 and the impact of the recent recession was attended by Svoboda & Williams’ Regional Director for Moravia and Silesia Zdeněk Vojtek. Experts agree that the crisis is slowly ending and stable growth can primarily be seen in the residential segment. “The crisis created new opportunities. The resale market opened up and is now moving full speed ahead. We’re witnessing a significant increase in inquiries and transactions. This year is proving to be an enormously successful one—the numbers for the first half that are available to us confirm this,” said Vojtek.

The differences between Prague and the country’s other regions was a big topic for the panelists. “We can see a continuous growth in the Prague property market. In Brno, it was fluctuating for a while, but we’re finally seeing it go up now as well. Premium projects such as Nová Myslivna, which have been missing in recent years, are finally beginning to be created,”continues Vojtek, speaking about the interest in quality residential projects in the country’s regions.

Another part of the conference was a debate on the new Building Act, which should significantly simplify the process of obtaining a building permit. It came into effect in July, but unfortunately the government’s decision on the day of the conference was met with the dismay of the panelists, one of whom was the co-author of the act and a partner in HAVEL & PARTNERS, František Korbel. A fully digital construction permit application is not yet in sight.

During the other conference sections, real estate market leaders discussed attractive investment opportunities at home and abroad. According to the experts, right now is a good time to invest in properties. In their opinions, prices won’t be coming down and in fact will increase by 5–8 % every year. Waiting to invest may therefore not prove to be prudent.

The conference’s final segment was on the hotel industry. Today, hotels are a solid investment. In the Czech Republic, they generate one of the highest yields in Europe and in Prague are even more profitable than in Vienna. Hotels with limited services (e.g. without a reception) can generate a profit of up to 60%. However, customers continue to prefer four-star services and experiences and are willing to pay a premium for them.